Abstract
In this letter, we report the near quantum-limited performance of an
end-fire millimetre-wavelength superconductor-insulator-superconductor
(SIS) mixer. An important feature of this mixer is its use of a
unilateral finline as the input antenna, which allows for a wide RF
bandwidth, a simple waveguide structure with easy alignment and for the
mixer chip to be aligned along the optical axis. Each of these factors
is beneficial in the construction of large-format focal plane arrays. We
tested the new finline mixer from 210 to 260 GHz and the best recorded
noise temperature was approximately twice the quantum limit, which is
comparable to conventional radial probe mixers. This suggests that
end-fire SIS mixers can be used in large-format arrays, comprising of
100s or even 1000s of SIS mixing elements, while retaining
state-of-the-art quantum mixing performance.